Stupid with Love
by bean1998
Summary: Newt had always been so stupid when it came to matters of love, and Tina is no exception. One-shot.


When he was five, Newt Scamander fell in love. It didn't last. She was a little muggle girl he met in the village he visited with his mother to buy groceries. Her father owned the shop and she would be seen outside, playing with her dolls. Newt thought she was stunning. Her hair shined like a hippogriff's feathers. He intended to tell her that and confess his love for her, but she ran from him. Literally, ran from him. All he remembers is that she ran fast.

When he was ten, he was in love again. His mother had to deliver two hippogriffs to the Lestrange family farm that they had purchased. Because Theseus was at Hogwarts, Newt assisted her. On the farm, he met Leta. She was sharp, but's she was kind to him. His heart sank when he had to leave her company at the end of the day. They met again at school a year later. Newt was seen as a weirdo, awkward and far too sarcastic. Leta was seen as a menace, sardonic and not at all ladylike. Both being misfits, they fit right in with each other. Newt quickly fell hopelessly in love.

By thirteen, still miserably in love with a girl far beyond his reach, he gave up trying. He decided to dedicate his life to magical creatures. That was real. That was in his grasp. He could bond with animals far better than any other human being. Besides, nifflers and bowtruckles and demiguises would never make him feel so stupid with love, like he didn't get it. Honestly, he _didn't_ get it. Somehow, he was smart everywhere else, but with people, with _love_ , he was stupid.

In his last year at Hogwarts, he had taken the fall for one of Leta's experiments that had gone wrong. He was ultimately expelled, but, luckily, he was able to keep his wand due to his no longer being underaged. The cold way that Leta treated the jarvey made him angry, but it was the cold way she treated him that made him end their friendship. However, it wasn't until years later that he would finally fall out of love with her.

He felt so incredibly stupid. He didn't know what was worse, how stupid and hopeless he felt in love or how stupid and hopeless he felt heartbroken. How could he let himself fall in love in the first place? How could he trust someone with such a fragile part of himself? He knew now from experience that giving people your heart will only lead to it being given back broken.

So, he threw himself into work. Learned everything he could about magical creatures. It wasn't long before textbooks weren't enough. They weren't accurate in Newt's opinion, painting most creatures in quite a negative and limited light. He needed a way to get out there and study hands on. To see creatures in their natural habitat.

Then the Great War came. Every able-bodied man did his part, and Newt was no exception. He served on the Eastern Front in a confidential Ministry of Magic program to wrangle Ukrainian Ironbellys for possible war use. The program was ultimately cancelled as the dragons only responded to Newt himself and tried to eat everyone else. He had tried to explain to them all that pain was not the motivator they should have been using, to instead gain their trust, but no one would listen to him. He was frequently called "runt" by the other men in his platoon and cast aside, so Newt honestly didn't expect anything to the contrary.

Theseus, on the other hand, was a war hero. His daring actions in battle earned him such a title. He fought with such vigor and bravery, there was a reason he was sorted in Gryffindor at school. He was praised and honored, and rightfully so in Newt's opinion. He was never quite jealous of his brother, but living in his shadow was something he did not enjoy, especially when his brother was always trying to mold him in his image. When the war ended, Theseus was a decorated officer with a job lined up for him as an auror. Newt, on the other hand, came home just happy to be alive. However, his work during the war hadn't gone unnoticed.

Newt was offered a job and immediately joined the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He spent two years in the Office for House-Elf Relocation before transferring to the Beast Division, where his extensive knowledge of magical creatures led to a rapid series of promotions, propelling him quickly forward as a magizoologist. There were not many who held such title, mainly because not many people strived for such a title at the time, but Newt was immensely proud of himself. He was in his element, working closely with magical beasts of all kinds and far away from other people.

When he was approached by Agustus Worme about writing a book on magical creatures, he jumped at the chance. He was going to get paid to travel the world and research magical beasts, it was a dream come true. He migrated over five continents, moving from country to country. He would observe creatures, gain their trust, sometimes he even befriended them. During his travels he obtained a traveling case with quite a few undetectable extension charms from an erumpent trafficker in Kenya. With a few decoration modifications, the case became home to Newt and any creatures he encountered on his travels that wanted or needed a home, as well.

For years, he had closed himself off from people, putting his energy into maintaining his creatures. He had become quite content with his life as it was. Then, he went to New York. He never meant to stay as long as he did. He never meant to get so involved with MACUSA and get so up close and personal with Gellert Grindelwald. He most surly _never_ meant to fall in love. He never meant for any of it to happen, but that December was one Newt never expected.

Tina Goldstein had thrown him for a loop and he was sorely unprepared. She was someone Newt never expected to befriend, let alone fall for. Then again, how could he not fall for her? She was incredibly beautiful. She was no bombshell, like her sister would be considered, but her beauty ran far deeper than that. It was in her face as well as in her soul that made her stunning.

Again, he was so _stupid_ with love. He knew he was a goner as he said goodbye to her on that dock. He toucher her hair, just to move a strand out of its precarious position near her eye, but he lingered. His whole hand felt like it was tingling at the feeling of her smooth cheek. He was swimming in her eyes, drowning in the almost black water he found there, yet at the same time they seemed to light up and dance like there was fire in her iris'. She, by far, was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

He was thankful for his creatures for bringing him joy in his life, and now he was even more thankful to them for bringing him her. His adventure in New York set his life on a new course, he could feel it, all because he met Tina.

The very day he returned home, he sent her a letter. Just to let her know he had arrived safely, he told himself. They continued to write to each other for months. They talked of their lives from as recent as the day they had to as far back as their childhood memories. Newt found Tina to be so easy to talk to, but he supposed the fact that he was not face to face with her made it exponentially easier.

No, it wasn't that. Although that did make it easier, that wasn't why he liked talking to her. It was just something uniquely her that made opening up so easy. Tina was the kind of person with immense kindness in her heart but a level head, which Newt thought to be a rare combination in his experience.

The fact that she trusted him just as equally as he did her definitely made talking easier as well. She opened up to him about how losing her parents changed how she saw the world and how crazy dedicated she had been in school because she felt she had something to prove. She told him of her favorite memories, like the last Hanukkah they had as a family or when she was chosen by the Thunderbird at Ilvermorny. She even admitted to being quite jealous of how Queenie had charm to boot, whereas she had to work her butt off just to be noticed.

Newt had responded slowly, only due to how many drafts of his letter he had gone through. It was quite a shorter letter than usual about how he understood, with only a single line about how she was hard not to notice, hoping it sounded enough like a compliment that she would understand his sentiment. After all, he couldn't just flat out write that he found her absolutely captivating. He just _couldn't_. How would he put into words that he had been bewitched by her the moment he saw her, even without fully realizing? That she was more beautiful and interesting than any other woman he had ever known? That her charm may be a subtle one, but one that he treasured dearly?

Well, he supposed, he could have just written it exactly like that. In fact, he had many thoughts of a similar caliber about Tina he _could_ just write down, but they all seemed so forced and awkward when he finally did scrawl them that all those letters ended up balled up in the wastebasket. He wasn't charming by nature or forward like most men. He was an observer, admiring from afar because it was honestly too scary to interact.

He was simply astounded and nonplussed at the feelings Tina caused him by just being her wonderful self. He wanted so bad to understand, to _get_ it. He learned the habits and personalities of creatures, so he could learn love, right?

As the boat approached the docks, Newt gripped her book in his hand tight, making his knuckles turn white at the pressure. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them had been officially published and placed on book shelves to be sold all over the UK as of a fortnight prior. Its international release was not for another month. The copy in his hand, however, was the very first official copy printed. He had requested it special for Tina. He could see the New York skyline in the distance as the boat approached closer and closer to the city.

He sat on the boat for far longer than he should have, steeling his nerves. With a deep breath in, he finally stood and made his way off the boat. He thought of that little girl in the market who ran from him. He thought of Leta Lestrange who had broken his heart with a letter. He thought of his creatures who he loved with all his heart. He thought of Tina who he would say to be the love of his life.

It was as if his thought conjured her, because there she was, standing impatiently at the end of the dock. She was with the rest of the crowd at the end of customs, her eyes searching until they finally landed on his face. Her face immediately broke out into a wide grin, her eyes crinkling with joy at the mere sight of him. Newt's heart began a rapid beat and his face felt warm as he waved lightly at her. She waved back.

He was absolutely stupid with love, but he wouldn't dare change a thing.

 **A/N: So, this is loosely based off of a song from Mean Girls the Musical of the same name. I don't know why but I felt like Newt would absolutely feel this way when it came to love and I just had to write it down. I also recently saw the Crimes of Grindelwald so I had to write something for Newt and Tina, who are so adorable. Hope you enjoy it, just leave a review and let me know!**


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